Cable tramway



.(No Model.)

J. s. LAKE.

CABLE TRAMWAY.

91. Patented Aug. 16, 1887.

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NirEn States arnsrr CABLE TRAMWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,291. dated August16, 1887.

Application filed February 17, 1857. Serial No. 327,976.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JESSE S. LAKE, a citizen of the United States.residing at Pleasantvillc, in the county of Atlantic and State of NewJersey. have invented a new and useful lniprovement in Gable Trainways,of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object, first, the producing ot a device forpulling cable cars around corners of streets (where crossstreets havecross-cables) from one cable onto the other crossing cable; second, toprovide a device for pulling cable cars past cross-cables or past anyother obstacle where horses now have to be used. mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings. in which Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2is a side elevation of the gripping and pulling device. Fig.3 is anenlarged top view of a detached section of the endless chains. Fig. 4 isan edge View of the same. Figs. 5 and 6 are details.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The tracks are marked A. The slots for the stem of the grips to travelin are marked B.

B is the cable.

0 is an endless chain extending around the corner of a street in a curvewhere there isno cable in the conduit and extends as far along thestraight part of the two crossing cables B as may be required to pullthe cars, to enable thecable B to be taken into the grip of said cars.Said chains 0 are placed in the conduit as near up to the slot B as isconvenient, and travel over a traekway, K, provided for the said chains0 and their small wheels C. (Shown Said endless chain 0 passes aroundsprocket-wheels F F where there is but a single track on each street;but if more than one cable is on a street, and one of the cables has tobe crossed, the endless chain 0 will have to be cut and form two endlesschains, with two sprocket-wheels for each endless chain. Thesprocket-wheels F, at the cable-crossing, are connected together bycoggearing below the cable to be crossed, which will be more fullydescribed farther on. Said endless chain or chains 0 have any desirednumber of hooks J rigidly fast to its upper side. (Shown in Figs. 1, 3,and 4.)

I attain these objects by the (No model.)

The railway K is far enough in from the slot B to allow the hook J to bepressed in by the grip-stem when hitting against its inclined point fromthe rear, thus allowing said grip to pass said hook J. (Shown by dottedlines in Fig. 3.) It will be observed that when the hook J is pressed ina portion of the endless chain 0 next to the said hook J is thrown outclear of the track K to near the slot B, thereby being in position tothrow the hook J out to clutch the rear of the grip I as soon as saidendless chains 0 are put in motion, whereby said chains are caused toassume their proper position on their tracks K, which throws the hooks Jout.

When the endless chains 0 are used for pulling cars past cross-cableswhere there are no curves, the hooks J are bent as shown in Fig. 6,whereby it will. operate on a straight line the same as theabove-described plan for a curve. Each sprocket-wheel is set in the sideof the conduit on a level with the railway K in a proper position toguide the endless chains 0 onto their respective tracks K.

L L are shafts that connect the sprocketwheels F F to the outsidecog-wheels of a series of three cog-wheels, E set in a line on a frameand their cogs meshing together below the crossing cable, whereby thetwoendless chains 0 are caused to move in the same dircetion.

M is a vertical shaft and may be set in the out edge of the sidewalk.

H is a cog whcel rigidly last on the lower end of said shalt M, andmeshes in the cogs of the rack-piece l). .baid rack-piece D extends outand under the grip1')ing-wheel E and the cable B, being the cable thatthe car is to be pulled onto. Said wheel E is rigidly attached to thesprocket-wheel F by shaft L. The said rack-piece D has a grip-wheel, E,on its upper side at its outer end. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.) Saidgrip-wheels E E may be so connected that they have to revolve togetherby coggearing in any of the known suitable forms. Motion isconununicated to the endless chains by turning the crank N, therebypulling the movable wheel E toward a stationary wheel, E, with the cableB between them, thus bind ing the cable 13 with sullicicnt force tocause said grip-wheels E E to revolve by the traveling motion of cable13, carrying with them the sprocket-wheel F which in turn revolves theendless chain or chains with their sprocketwheels .13 F F, which carrythe said endless chains 0, and by means of the hook J, the grip I, andthe car, are successfully carried around the corner or curve or acrossthe cross-cable, as may be required.

The hooks J, when two endless chains are used, are so arranged on thepulling endless chains that when they approach the crosscable the hooksJ on the first endless chain leaves the grip and is out of the way forone of the hooks J of these'cond endless chain 0 to take its place andkeep up the motion of the car until ittakes up the desired cable.

I do not claim pulling cars around corners (where there is no cable tocross) with supplemental chains provided with hooks when said chains a eoperated by horsepower or by separate engines set expressly foroperating said chains; but

What I claim as my invention,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Ina tramway, an endless chain or chains having a series of hookswhich are rigidly fastened to links of said chain at proper intervals,said hooks having rear inclined points which are for the purpose ofallowing a traveling grip-stem to force it in, and thus pass it whencoming onto it from the rear,and thereby carrying or tipping out aportion of the said chain in front of the hook clear of its track, thusplacingthe chainin position to throw the hook out to engage with therear part of the grip when the chain is pulled upon or put in motion byone of the traveling crossing cables, whereby a car can be carried fromone crossing cable onto another, substantiallyas shown and described.

2. In a tramway, two or more sections of endless chains connectedtogether by cog gearing below a crossing cable,so as to form acontinuous pulling device for pulling cars across crossing cables, saidendless chains being operated and moved by one of the crossing cables,and all combined substantially as shown and described.

3. In a tramway, a pulling device consisting of a stationary wheel, E,rigidly secured to the lower end of its shaft L, having asprocket-wheel, F rigidly fast to its upper end, and a movable wheel, E,and means to press said wheels together on the cable B, gripping it withsufficient force to cause the rotating of the wheel E,andsprocket-wl1eelF,thereby re volving the endless pulling-chain O, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a tramway, the combination of the endless chains 0,sprocket-wheels F F, cogwheels E, and shafts L, for the purpose setforth.

5. In a tramway, the combination of the track or railway K, wheels 0,hooks J, and grip I, substantially as described, and for the purpose setforth.'

6. In a tramway, the combination of rackpiece D, cog wheel H, shaft M,crank or its equivalent N, and cable B, when used for the purpose setforth.

7. In a tramway, the combination of the endless chains 0 and hooks J, asdescribed, whereby said hooks J of the first endless chain 0 leaves thegrip I just before the hook J of the second chain is in position to takeits place,

substantially as described and shown.

8. In a tramway, the combination of the endless chains 0 and hooks J, asdescribed, whereby the hook J of the second endless chain is in positionto take the grip Ias soon as hook J of the first chain 0 is out of itsway, and

thereby keeps up the motion of the car until JESSE s. LAKE.

Vitnesses:

FRANK WAUDSLEBY, Cumulus Orro.

